Kindness is Fleeting
by CrappyWriterFailing
Summary: Compassion is eternal. Canon divergent Sith Inquisitor from birth to death.


"Mama! Look what I can do!" I yelled happily, running toward her open arms. We lived on Tatooine, and even as I ran that short while, I felt the sun beaming onto my back, the hot aim scorching my throat. Not that I minded, so caught up in my excitement that I didn't even notice those normal discomforts.

My mother always had time for me. White hair reflecting the sunlight, scattering the rays across the desert, her chocolate brown eyes as warm as the sand beneath my feet. Her skin tanned dark by years of the suns rays but never looking unhealthy like many others started to look after years on the planet. Every whim of mine was indulged by my mother, so long as she had the time. This was one of those times, as she sat me down on her lap once I jumped into her arms and looked at me with a smile. I felt a gentle finger poke my nose, "What is it, my beautiful boy?"

"Only beautiful because of how he takes after his mother." I heard my father rumble from the house.

Unlike my mother, the years of the sun hadn't treated him well. He was a hulking figure, one of the largest people I had ever seen. Several times now, my father had to get treated from some illness given to him by the rays radiation. His skin was blotched, spotted and unhealthy, every day looking more painful. I nearly cried every time I saw him walk off to the moisture farm, but knew better. Laugh as much as you want, but on Tatooine, you don't cry. My mother would say to me in the softest reprimand, you're wasting the water your father and I work so hard to get, beautiful boy. Dry those tears.

Not that I was paying any attention to my father, instead I raised my hands to show my mother what was contained within. A simple rock, sitting between the palms of both my hands.

Until it wasn't a simple rock anymore.

It floated, only slightly off my palms, the sight bringing energy to sing through me. I'd never felt more energized in my short life. It was almost like that one time I had a full jug of water on my birthday!

I heard my mother gasp.

I looked up and expected to see her smile, her warm eyes sharing my joy. Instead, I was met with those tears she told me we should never produce. Her hands slammed down, forcing my palms back together painfully. Tears of surprised pain flooded to my eyes, but I blinked them back and tried to control the wobble of my lip. My mother looked almost angry, it was a sight I had never seen before. Her voice pitched low, there was an urgency there I had never heard before. I'd never felt so panicked in my short life. My mother was mad at me, she was always happy but now she was looking at me like that -

"You mustn't ever show your father that!" She hissed out, her hands still keeping mine closed.

I couldn't restrain the tears any longer, "Mama..."

I saw her eyes soften slightly, her grip on my hands slackened, "My beautiful boy... What you showed me was both amazing, and the worst thing you could have done to your father and I. Forget it ever happened! It will only bring us unhappiness. In this world, people with those powers lack something vital. I don't want to lose my boy to those types of people. They lack that compassion I see in you every time I see those eyes of yours. I never want you to lose that. Please, beautiful boy, forget it ever happened. I only want you safe and happy."

I felt my mothers arms envelop me.

At that moment, I had no intention of ever using that power again.

* * *

I was five when I first understood what the power I had once shown was. Never once had I used it again, but I thought about it a lot. The way that it felt, how naturally the energy ran through my body - one of the boy's in town was talking about Jedi and Sith. The idea that these two groups fought one another using a mystical power called The Force. Only, the boy swore it was a true story, and others confirmed the story with nods, rather than scoffs. So people were running around using this Force to accomplish great things. I knew at that moment what my mysterious power was - It was the only word that could properly explain the feeling of energy rushing through me.

Energy just wasn't the right word. It felt more like a Force of power.

Knowing what it was I needed to ignore made it easier.

I went home that day lighter than I'd felt since my mother first told me what she wanted from me.

That lightness disappeared upon the sight that I was greeted with. Our house looked horrible. Torn apart, things were thrown around the room, plates broke, jars of precious water scattered into puddles and ceramic shards. In the middle of the room was my mother, her face twisted in pain. Her gleaming white hair streaked with blood held up by darkened, battle-worn fingers. Those fingers lead up to a hulking man, larger than even my father. He didn't look human - My mother had told me of different species, and I'd seen some Twilik, but this was something else entirely. He wore scratched armour, painted with a symbol I barely recognized. My mother always told me to run away if I ever saw someone with that symbol.

My shock had struck me so hard I couldn't say a word, I stood there.

My mother didn't notice me, she glared up at the man blooding her hair, "I don't know where he is, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

" I think you misunderstand your situation, bitch. You're going to tell me where that pussy of your husband is, or you are going to pay off his debt in labour." The husky, breaking voice of the man spoke.

My mother shrunk back in fear, but immediately after her eyes sparked back to life. I had no idea what the word labour meant, but it must have been horrible if it got my mother to react like that.

"Mama...: I whispered, wanting to comfort her.

She turned toward me, and I was immediately teleported back to the day I showed her that power. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at me, a feeling that she explained to me afterwards as worry filling them. Immediately, her stilled body struggled against the man holding her. I could see her hair ripping as she attempted to pull herself away from the fist. Blood dripped down her neck as her mouth opened, "RUN! GO BACK TO TOWN XEPNA!"

Before I could react, the man slammed a heavy hand onto my mothers head. She fell down, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. The lumbering man ignored her crumpled body, pushing it to the side as he thundered toward me. I was too shocked to do anything as he gripped my wrists together so hard that it hurt. Bruising forming almost immediately. No squirming on my part got the man to let go, no yelling on my part seemed to get through to him. I wondered if I was even saying words as I babbled, unable to understand what was happening. I was thrown on top of my mother's body. Not knowing what else to do, I curled up next to her. The man was still glaring down at me, his beady eyes drilling into mine. I closed my eyes and held onto my mother.

This had to be a nightmare.

I felt a familiar, gentle hand stroking my back, my sobs started to clear up.

"My beautiful brave boy..."' I heard my mother whisper, no sign of her worry, as she just held me. Neither of us moving from our place on the floor.

"I'm home wife!"

I heard my fathers joyous voice proclaim from outside the house. The door opened. I felt something ZANG through the air, and something fell to the floor with a heavy plop. I didn't dare open my eyes, my mother held me tighter. I could feel wet dripping onto my forehead. Whether it was those forbidden tears, of the crimson fluid my mother was leaking, I didn't know. It didn't matter. I had my mother with me, everything would be okay.

"Get up you useless wrench, bring the kid too. My boss decided that two slaves were worth more than getting back the money your husband owed." The man spat out.

It wasn't okay.

The man ripped me from my mother, and my eyes flew open. My knees hit the floor, and I rolled out. What I saw when my body finished rotating would stay with me forever. My father's face, if you could even call it that. Half of it was blown completely off, grey spilling to the floor, mixed with red blood into a mysterious mush. His remaining eye was pulled open in horrified surprise, that was the last thing he felt before he died. I shakingly lifted my hand, it had landed in the puddle of mush that used to be part of my father. It stuck to my fingers. There was no more time for me to think about it, that dirty hand was clasped by my mothers and I was pulled to my feet.

I got to my feet and looked at my mother. Her beautiful hair was in patches, her tanned skin bloodied, her chocolate eyes deadened. She looked forward and drug me behind her.


End file.
